Costa Rica
Republic of Costa Rica
República de Costa Rica
Flag
Coat of arms
Anthem:
Noble patria, tu hermosa bandera (Spanish)
"Noble homeland, your beautiful flag"
Capital
(and largest city)
San José
9°55′N 84°4′W / 9.917°N 84.067°W /
9.917; -84.067
Official
languages
Spanish
Recognised
regional languages
Mekatelyu
Ethnic groups
94% White, Castizo and
Mestizo 3.0%, West African,
1.0% Amerindian, 1.0%
Chinese, 1.0% Other
Demonym
Costa Rican
Government
Constitutional democracy
(Presidential republic)
-
President
Oscar Arias (PLN)
-
Vice President
unoccupied
Independence
from Spain (via Guatemala)
-
Declared
September 14, 1821
-
Recognized by
Spain
May 10, 1850
-
from the UPCA
1838
Area
-
Total
51,100 km2 (128th)
19,730 sq mi
- Water (%)
0.7
Population
-
July
2009 estimate
4,253,877 (119th)
-
Density
85/km2 (107th)
220/sq mi
GDP (PPP)
2008 estimate
-
Total
$48.741 billion[1]
-
Per capita
$10,752[1]
GDP (nominal)
2008 estimate
-
Total
$29.828 billion[1]
-
Per capita
$6,580[1]
Gini (2001)
49.9 (high)
HDI (2008)
▲ 0.847 (high) (50th)
Currency
Costa Rican colón (CRC)
Time zone
(UTC-6)
Drives on the
right
Internet TLD
.cr
Calling code
+506
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa
Rica (Spanish: Costa Rica or República de
Costa Rica, Spanish pronunciation: [reˈpuβlika ðe
ˈkosta ˈrika]) is a country in Central America,
bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama
to the east and south, the Pacific Ocean to
the west and south and the Caribbean Sea to
the east. Costa Rica, which translates liter-
ally as "Rich Coast", was the first country in
the world to constitutionally abolish
its
army.[2] Among Latin American countries,
Costa Rica ranks 4th in terms of the 2007
Human Development Index. The country is
ranked 5th in the world, and 1st among the
Americas, in terms of the 2008 Environment-
al Performance Index.[3][4] In 2007 the Costa
Rican government announced plans for Costa
Rica to become the first carbon neutral coun-
try by 2021.[5][6][7]
History
In Pre-Columbian
times
the
indigenous
people, in what is now known as C